God is Love!

Heavenly Father, thank you for this time we have together.  I thank You for the many blessings you’ve poured into my life, known and unknown, and praise You for the work you’ve begun in me.  Quiet my mind and thoughts, that I can hear only You.  Amen.

Ephesians 3:14-19

New International Version (NIV)

A Prayer for the Ephesians

¹⁴ For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family^[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

The references to God as our Father, and that he loves us so much brought a song to mind that I learned as a child:

Praise Him, praise Him, all ye little children, God is love, God is love; Praise Him, praise Him, all ye little children, God is love, God is love.

The other verses are the same except for the first two words – verse two is Thank Him…, and verse three is Love Him... I know that I won’t ever be able to understand the depth and breadth of God’s love for me on this side of heaven, but I think Paul is asking us to remember our value from God daily, in our “inner being”.  If we can start our day being “rooted and established” in His love… how powerful is that?  What do we have to fear?  When I think back to singing that “Sunday school” song as a child, I didn’t question those statements.  I accepted them as truth.  As an adult, my mind is divided and distracted from that simple truth by the busyness of my day,

I love Paul’s prayer that Pastor Delton encouraged us to use each day (see below).  Just the wording instantly aligns my priorities with God, takes the focus off of me, and reminds me how much we all are loved.

Father God, You are my Father, on earth and in heaven.  Please send your Holy Spirit to remind me that I am Your child, loved and treasured by a Daddy “from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name”.  Open my eyes and ears to the daily opportunities you give me to proclaim Your love to Your children around me.  I praise you, I thank you, and I love you.  Amen.

kristi

Father in Heaven,

I pray that out of Your glorious riches you would strengthen ________ with power through Your Spirit in _______ inner being, so that Christ may dwell in ________ heart through faith.  And I pray that _______, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all Your holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that _______ may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.  Amen.